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Zhen Ji
Zhen Ji is Cao Pi's wife, though she was originally one of Yuan Xi's wives. Her marriage to either one of her husbands is not always mentioned in the games. In Dynasty Warriors Online, she is 25 years old and her height is 164 cm (5'4.5"). General Information While serving Zhen Ji you will get Distribution + 10 Musou + 15 Character Information Personality Zhen Ji is a dignified and proud noblewoman who yearns to find personal satisfaction in battle. Her elegance and beauty have enchanted many who come across her, as others label her beauty to be simultaneously dangerous. Since she loves to flaunt her natural talents, her pride with her status borderlines arrogance and makes her seem smug. Though she acts hostile towards him on their first meeting, she genuinely grows devoted to Cao Pi during their time together. She affectionately addresses him as "My beloved" or "My lord" (我が君, Waga kimi). Like Diao Chan, her sexually suggestive phrases are often cut in the English script. In recent games, she also has a minor rivalry with Yue Ying as the women argue over who has the better mate. Should they meet on the field in Dynasty Warriors 6, they will berate their rival's husband and grow angered if insulted. Judging from her quotes, Zhen Ji is also a flirtatious woman who has a bit of a reputation for controversy. She exchanges witty repartee with Cao Pi, indeed she could be viewed as a quaintrelle. She knows how to make herself agreeable to men. Character Symbolism The original name of Zhen Ji's second weapon is named in honor of her title as the first Empress of Wei. The particular character used is an archaic method of marking the beginning of a time period (春) and the following character translates as empress (后). Together, these characters roughly mean "first empress of an era". Her third weapon, literally translated as "Demon Moon", alludes to either one of two stories related to Lady Zhen. One is related to a legendary rumor regarding a grudge by her spirit. Cao Pi's second wife, Lady Guo, was said to have thought her husband's spontaneous illness was caused by a curse from Lady Zhen. Such a rumor is a reference to the hatred held for Cao Pi's reign, one of the romanticized reasons being tied to Lady Zhen's death. The other possible explanation may be tied to negative rumors of Lady Zhen's reputation. This version emphasizes her damning beauty mentioned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms yet also goes on to add that she was petty and too outspoken. While the former account with Lady Guo does have some historical basis, the latter has been largely accepted as a possible fabrication made to discredit Lady Zhen after the fact. Zhen Ji's fourth weapon and her Level 11 weapon is a plausible reference to her actual death. One interpretation of the weapon's name may literally mean "strange month" (月妖) while the following two characters translates as "mad day" (日狂). According to rumors and legends, an eclipse occurred the day after Lady Zhen's death. Eclipses are known in many ancient cultures to have been foreboding, ominous signs of the future. China was no different, as these natural phenomenons were tied to dragons devouring the heavenly sources of light and the entire collapse of the world. Her original outfit for Dynasty Warriors 7 is a Japanese school uniform for females. It's a popular option for girls who personally care about fashion or trends to tinker their attire as much as they can without breaking the school's dress code. Each school has different guidelines that may become stricter each year, so it's considered a challenge for fashionable individuals to always look their best. As a side note, having a character wear these type of uniforms is a mild form of fanservice. The original name of Zhen Ji's personal item in Warriors Orochi is "Spiritual Lady's Guqin". The characters for the first part of the name refers to a lovely maiden whose beauty is a ruse for a dreaded monster. Usually the said maiden is an undead spirit and one of supernatural origin. If one is to believe the rumors and the Ganzhenji, Cao Zhi dedicated the poem Luoshenfu to her. The poem entails a gorgeous maiden crossing over Luo River, which is also said to have ties to Fufei (a daughter of Fuxi's who died whilst drowning). The poem and additional folklore surrounding the river is also the reason why many associate Lady Zhen with the name Zhen Luo. Guqin is an ancient Chinese stringed instrument that has many traditional compositions dedicated to romance and longing.Cai Yan was one of many composers associated with the instrument's long history. Historical Information Lady Zhen was the youngest daughter of Zhen Yi and Lady Zhang and was born in modern day Zhangjiakou, Hebei. She had three older brothers and four older sisters. Her real name is not recorded, but she is popularly known as Zhen Luo due to speculation revolving Cao Zhi's alleged romantic feelings and dedicated poetry to her. Her other names include Zhen Mi (甄宓), Zhen Shi (甄氏), and Zhen Furen (甄夫人). When she was young, her family remained wealthy due to her father's status as a government official. Though raised in turbulent times, there are many tales of Lady Zhen acting with modesty and she was a maiden with a solemn character. Other stories describe her as being benevolent and caring to those stricken by famine, being praised as a popular figure of the community in spite of her age. All that is historically written about her early life, however, was her marriage to Yuan Xi when he was the Governor of Youzhou. When digging deeper through her family ties, she could also be considered related to the Liu family in Jizhou. When Cao Cao invaded Yecheng in Jizhou, she was taken as a prisoner in 204. Before Cao Cao's death in 220, she was married to Cao Pi. Cao Pi fell in love with her at first sight and married her right away. However, the father of their alleged first child together, Cao Rui, is still up for debate. According to her jumbled entry in Record of the Three Kingdoms, she gave supposedly gave birth to Cao Rui before her first meeting with Cao Pi. While it has been argued to have been a historian's mistake in recording numbers, it also implies that it's possible Cao Rui was actually Yuan Xi's son. Regardless of the confusion, the mother isn't mistaken and she is accredited to have given birth to Cao Rui, the second Emperor of Wei. She was known to have been with child shortly after her marriage to Cao Pi, giving birth to their short-lived daughter, Princess Dongxiang. After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi rose to become Prince of Wei and abdicated Emperor Xian from the throne to become the Emperor of Wei. By this time, Lady Zhen was on the verge of losing favor with Cao Pi due to the introduction of Guo Nuwang (later known as Empress Wende). Having been denied entry to the royal court by her husband and feeling neglected by his growing harem of ladies, Lady Zhen began to wallow in grief. She complained to Cao Pi numerous times, but her efforts only earned her further displeasure from Cao Pi. In the early months of 221, she died without getting any satisfaction from her husband when he angrily ordered her to commit suicide. According to Zhou Xuan's scroll in The Book of Wei, Cao Pi told him a story of a dream he once had. Cao Pi was in a state in which his body rose high in the sky and nearly touched the heavens. Zhou Xuan replied, "There are many noble maidens in the land, but it may mean that one of them is fated to die due to a false crime against her." Not soon after he said this, a messenger came to them regarding Lady Zhen's suicide. Cao Pi regretted his actions and tried to send a messenger to cancel the order immediately. Sadly, the second messenger did not arrive in time to stop her death. Lady Zhen was posthumously given the rank of empress by her son in 226. A controversial entry in historical records surrounding Guo Nuwang states she thought Cao Pi's sudden ailing state five years later was attributed to Lady Zhen's vengeful spirit. Guo Nuwang acknowledged her husband's illness to be a curse from Lady Zhen. Romance of the Three Kingdoms In the novel, Cao Pi and Lady Zhen's relationship was changed to be more romantic. He found her and Yuan Shao's widowed wife within the Yuan family palace during the aftermath of Guan Du. Before he killed them, he paused and caught sight of Lady Zhen. Once the elder maiden addressed who they were, he cleaned Lady Zhen's face and saw that she was exquisitely beautiful. She was described to have beauty so lovely that it had the power to destroy a kingdom, which roughly means that her looks would have distracted a ruler so much that they would completely neglect state affairs. Cao Pi then guaranteed the two ladies' safety and they were introduced to Cao Cao, who was frustrated that no one had reported to him yet. Once he saw Lady Zhen, he proclaimed her to be a fitting wife for his son. Sometime after Cao Pi married her, she gave birth to Cao Rui and she became Empress. In chapter 91, Lady Zhen began to fall out of Cao Pi's favor when Lady Guo, an exceptionally famed beauty, became a consort for Cao Pi. Lady Guo, who wanted to rid of her rival, gained Zhang Tao as her confidant. The minister accused Lady Zhen of using voodoo magic to cause harm to Cao Pi. Enraged, the Emperor ordered his wife to commit suicide. After her death, Lady Guo replaced her spot as Empress. Quests started by Zhen Ji Destroy the Facility - 1 Player Quest Capture the Messenger - 1 Player Quest A Soldier Prizes Speed - 1 Player Quest Snow Princess' Robe - 3 Player Quest The Severed Route - 4 Player Quest Weapon Zhen Ji's Weapon of choice is the Flute